Reply With QuoteSill damage? In all probability, you don’t want to “fix” that - you want your money back.
I've spent a significant amount of money to treat myself to a used Tesla.
Deposit paid via internet and I collected it yesterday. I am still super excited. It's a fantastic car.
However... Upon closer inspection, I have found some fairly significant damage to the the passenger side sill underneath, not something I noticed on inspection as it's quite tucked away.
Citizen's Advice suggests:
"You won’t be entitled to anything if:
You inspected the car and should’ve spotted the problem, for example a dent"
Has anyone had anything like this before? Garage is not open until Tuesday, although I have emailed them with details, so it's logged at the right date/time. The garage did mention a 14 day cooling off period - I've not heard of that in car sales?
I suspect it'll be an expensive fix, given my limited understanding of bodywork.
Sill damage? In all probability, you don’t want to “fix” that - you want your money back.
I’d agree, especially on a TeslaOriginally Posted by JGJG
Did you buy private or at a garage or from Tesla?
I bought a Lexus years ago from the main dealer in mid winter and only viewed it in torrid weather and half light. When washing it, the car has been repaired and you could see the paint had been feathered in.
Took it back and they refunded me very apologetically in fairness.
Is sill damage that bad!?
I’ll pop up a picture when I’m back from walking the dog. Not purchased from Tesla but through a reputable car supermarket.
I suspect the challenge will be proving I haven’t caused the damage…
I would return the car and get my money back, there may be other associated damage that you have not seen.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
It’s the fact the batteries are in the floor which are connected to the sill. Pretty sure I read someone did this and it was crazy money to sort out. All depends on where and how bad I guess
Did you pay any of it on a credit card? If so they can dispute on your behalf.
You could see if there's a no quibble return and hope they don't see it, if you didn't maybe they won't?
No idea if comparable…. Just a quick Google, Tesla sill damage and reference to a quote for £7k
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/thre...r-door.234854/
If you bought it at 'a distance' (deposit paid over internet) you should have right of return for 14 days like anything bought online.
Double-check the T&Cs but I would initiate a return. Plenty of other secondhand Teslas out there.
And yes, sill damage could potentially be structural (depending on location).
I’ve called the sales team (aftercare not there until Tuesday). They were very helpful. They’ve said there’s a 14 money back warranty as long as I don’t do more than 100 miles (which I haven’t), but she seemed confident that they will fix it.
Money back time.
To be fair, on any normal car that damage would be a very minor fix, but on Tesla you'd need a very thorough inspection by experts.
Seems like a simple body panel fix to me, they surely push that out and reshape/respray…wouldnt bother me that much tbh.
That'd be my move too. What else might the Seller have missed, hoping the buyer doesn't notice...Driving the future already comes at a premium, I'd wanna be 100 per cent happy, confident from the start.
Last edited by Passenger; 31st December 2022 at 17:56.
They 100% knew about it and didn’t mention or fix it - return it
You can see it clearly in the 1st pic
I mean, they MOT’d it and put 2 rear tyres on - they must have seen it, right. I’ll be honest, that first picture was when I got it home, I hadn’t noticed it myself at that point. Once you know it’s there, it’s hard to miss.
I’m just hoping there’s no argument of me causing the damage after purchasing it.
No exterior photo's from an advert you could back that up with?
Any dealer pre-sale pix of car available showing damage? Did dealer choose not to photograph car's nearside for the sales description? Reasonable to expect dealer to advise all significant defects prior to sale – and sill damage is significant. MOTd on 28/12 and no advisory ref sill damage; advisory ref tyre treads but tyres were replaced. 'Citizens Advice' advisors are volunteers and not necessarily experts ref. vehicle sales or sale of goods laws. Appears you have a bona fide case for full refund especially if sill condition was withheld.
Last edited by sundial; 31st December 2022 at 20:50.
"Well they would say that ... wouldn't they!"
No, they pop them up to be reserved before all the pictures are uploaded. So no pre-sale pictures available.
They sent me a video walk-around and I *think* I can see it on the video but it’s too low res to be considered concrete evidence.
Nothing noted on MOT.
Last edited by RickChard; 31st December 2022 at 20:49.
Tesla Model 3 battery removal might be of interest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPVrraVbEIM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD1gTUVakBY.
Major task to check if anything is damaged internally
Last edited by sundial; 31st December 2022 at 21:14.
"Well they would say that ... wouldn't they!"
It would not be part of the MOT.
They sold you a car with damage (that they probably knew about).
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
I'm struggling to see how you missed that when inspected on collection (it stands out from 10 feet away and up close!)? But anyway, thankfully you have the law on your side. Sounds particularly dishonest on the part of the dealer - which would put me off.
Enjoy your EV when the time comes.
It’s my 6th car from them over the years, they’ve always been very good and exceptionally well priced.
The damage is not easily spotted when close to the car, the kink in the skirt is genuinely hard to spot when up close, but fairly obvious at a distance.
We’ve reviewed the video they sent and the damage is clearly on there, it’s sufficient evidence for any challenge.
Genuinely I want it repaired, although all advice on here says otherwise. It was super-competitively priced and I can’t find another I can afford. I’ve never spent more that 10k on a car and this is over 3 times that, I lost my mother a few months ago, and we always bonded over cars; this was me reminding myself that life is too short.
Let’s see what Tuesday brings.
Thanks for all the advice folks.
Don't let your heart rule your head, seriously.
Buying a Tesla (as opposed to leasing) is a zero sum game.
Good luck in sorting this which ever way you chose to go.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Sage advice, and I will take everyone’s input seriously when I speak to them.
Definitely- having it repaired might come back to bite you at a later date
Haven’t read the whole thread (sorry) - have you paid in cash? Or is finance involved?
If you have any kind of finance on the car you can just reject it, make sure you do it within 14 days of taking delivery though.
Sale via bank transfer, no credit involved. Looks like I can utilise 14 day refund due to distance selling regulations.
Seems like the most sensible approach.
If you like the car and the price was right id urge you to take professional advise before making any decisions….other than cosmetic i don't see any reason to worry about the damage. The batteries aren't in there and in my experience highly unlikely to be anything in there of any note.
Perhaps, but any dealer who sells a car with that kind of cosmetic damage has to be questionable - what other (if any) associated age is present?
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
I do trust the dealer although it does feel somewhat shady, given the circumstances.
The damage does seem/feel cosmetic only. I will take all feedback into account when I speak to them. Consensus seems to be that rejecting the car is the most sensible approach. I have bonded with the car though and can’t find a suitable, affordable replacement. I’ll see what they say.
Possibly but the OP has already said he's bought cars from them before, 6 if I remember correctly and said they've been very good. Things happen when buying/selling cars, all it takes is one clumsy prep guy or someone’s having a bad day and things get missed. From a technical stand point it wouldn't bother me however everyone has their levels which is why a pro needs to cast his eye over. I don't believe a knock to result in that would have and consequence to the rest of the car.
Don’t let the consensus sway you too much - it’s fairly generic viewpoint to reject everything at this point
As a mechanical engineer working in the automotive industry, that looks completely superficial to me and could be repaired just like any other dent
However get it assessed by a respected independent body shop and if they also think this and you like it then get it repaired and it’s job done
Sorry D, at that price point I would expect better.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Yeh and i wouldn't disagree with that…having seen a lot higher price points and all kind of issues nothing surprises me anymore.
Surprising the dealer sent the car for its MOT without (apparently) first inspecting the tyres? Or possibly took a chance on it scraping through without an 'on advice' warning?
"Well they would say that ... wouldn't they!"
The car had a warning on dashboard about tyre tread depth, I pointed it out to them. I agree it’s odd that they didn’t replace them prior to MOT and did it after-the-fact
Because I'm old and cynical...if the dealer "missed" the damage I'd be worried about the rest of the pre sale checks and the things you can't see
All down to MOT testers, they're all different, some advise at 2mm others advise at 4mm.Industry standards generally say replace at 4mm if we’re talking car sales. Again its all down to individual dealers when they replace the tyres and when its submitted for MOT…could just have been a logistical reason.
The 'car supermarket' guys mostly gouge every cent out of a deal regardless. They save a few ££'s where they can and are happy to risk comeback from a customer and rectify if it happens..
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
I agree with this, if it was any car other car than a Tesla. It’s literally impossible for an inde to work on them and from what I’ve read Tesla aren’t all that interested in cars out of warranty.
There will be plenty of cars available in the next few months, get your money back while you have the chance. If further faults come to light you can bet your life they will be linked to the damage if you try and claim through warranty.
Good luck and Happy New Year!
Cheers
Rory
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I don’t know if the same applies in the UK regarding Tesla, but I watched a video on YouTube a while back about a guy is the US who bought a damaged Tesla cheaply and repaired it himself.
It later went into Tesla for something or other, the damage repair was discovered and they then listed the car as unsupported and disconnected it from the Tesla Supercharger network.
This “may” have been when Tesla did free Supercharging though.
Sent from my iPad using TZ-UK mobile app
There is one of these care supermarkets near me and the state of some of the cars is unbelievable and they don’t seem to be that much cheaper than the main dealers
Last place I worked replaced tyres 3mm on sales car but if an mot was required it was done first, so tyres and anything that might pop up were done at the same time, or, cars were often traded between dealers so no work was done till a sale done.
If the op has been happy with previous purchases, perhaps this was a one off ignored by the dealer due to to possible costs, or ignorance of possible costs, but it’s always wise to do a thorough inspection as a buyer.
Hi Chris.
I am thinking of buying a Tesla. Can you elaborate on this comment as I don’t understand what you mean. You mean there’s no point buying a Tesla?
Cheers Greg
P.S Good luck Rich. I would have missed it as well. Sounds like your dealer is amenable to sorting it which good!
Buying any electric car is probably going to cost a fortune in depreciation as the technology is moving so fast it will be obsolete very quickly, of course this presupposes you want to keep it for a bit.
Is there a Tesla dealership or an authorised repair shop within a reasonable distance, OP? Maybe the retailer you bought the car from may know. Taking the car back will be at a cost to them (not that this should/will be a factor in your rights etc) so maybe they'll accept an independent inspection, and repair, of the vehicle from their pocket.
I agree with those that have said that it's most probably just cosmetic though perfectly understand the potential for lack of trust in the vehicle and the "what if there's something else not declared" perspective. If you feel it's the right vehicle for you then it may be worth considering the question, regardless of that them knowing that you're a repeat customer I'd hope they do the best by you regardless.
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